What are Identity Theft Protection Services?
These days, it’s easier than ever for your personal information to get out there. With everything online, it’s astonishing to know that many details of your life are out there for the cyber world to see. As a result, there are more identity theft attacks than ever. However, you can use identity theft protection to keep your information safe.
What is Identity Theft?
Identity theft is a type of fraud crime that involves a criminal stealing another person’s personal or financial information. There are various ways that the crime can be committed: online, rummaging through paper statements, or even viewing the information in person while the victim is using it.
In previous eras, identity theft was often committed when a criminal would steal someone’s purse or wallet and get access to their IDs and credit cards. However, these days, with everything now easily accessible online, it’s easier than ever for criminals to gain access to personally-identifying and financial information.
If a thief gains access to your information, they can end up doing any of the following:
- Use your identity
- Use your credit card to make purchases
- Open new credit card accounts under your name
- Use your health insurance to obtain medical care
- Gain access to your tax refund by pretending to be you
Any of the above scenarios is terrifying and can have long-lasting, serious consequences. If you become the victim of identity theft, the damage can stay with you for years even after you have taken all the necessary steps to rectify the problem. Your credit might even be ruined. Even worse, your personal reputation might be severely damaged as well even though you are the victim.
What is Identity Theft Protection?
Identity theft protection is the best way to protect your identity. When you get the best identity theft protection, like the one offered by IDShield, it can serve as a safeguard for your personal and financial information. Identity theft protection is a type of service that monitors databases and websites to check for your personal and financial information. Typically, identity theft protection services will check for your information and alert you if anything is located online and through other services. They include the following:
- Check cashing requests
- Court and arrest records
- Payday loan applications
- Social media sites
- Orders for new services such as cable, utilities, and wireless services
- The dark web
- USPS change of address requests
How Does Identity Theft Protection Work?
Identity theft protection works by constantly monitoring websites and various services to detect your personal and financial information to see if it appears anywhere. If your information has been compromised, you are alerted of the problem. Meanwhile, banks, creditors, credit bureaus, and other financial services are also alerted to inform them that your identity has been stolen. Identity theft protection services often work with these institutions to help restore your identity.
There are a variety of options available for identity theft protection services. Some offer a richer array of services than others. Many include credit monitoring to detect whether anything suspicious has been found on your credit reports such as a brand new account opened in your name or a significant increase in a credit card balance.
If it’s discovered that your personal or financial information has been compromised, the service will apply to help stop further damage and fix things. Some services offer up to $1 million of protection for restoring your good name with help from identity theft protection experts.
Identity theft protection can give you peace of mind in the event that your information is ever stolen.
